


Not part of my job description

by HikariYumi



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: But don't tell anyone, Coffee Dad Sakura Sojiro, During Canon, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Morgana is a good bro, Morgana likes being petted, Sakura Sojiro PoV, Sick Akira, Sick Character, Sickfic, Sojiro is a good dad, Sojiro is too old for shit like this but he does it anyway, milod Spoilers for the forth palace because Futaba is mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-23 17:51:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18155093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HikariYumi/pseuds/HikariYumi
Summary: Akira suddenly returns sick to LeBlanc and Sojiro is stuck with keeping an eye on him. This night changes more than Sojiro realised at first.





	Not part of my job description

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there,
> 
> finally I wrote the sick fic I wanted to write since the beginning. Because I'm me it isn't really sickfic-y... cause I dunno?   
> Btw, I'm heavily implying that Akira isn't actually sick but is suffering from side effects of Takemi's most recent drug trial, but they can't quite tell Sojiro that, can they?
> 
> Anyway, some self indulgence.... 
> 
> ~HIkari

After two months of living more or less side by side with Akira, Sojiro could guess correctly when the kid would return to the café in the evenings. He didn’t need to look up from his newspaper anymore when the doorbell chimed to know that it was Akira, he felt a bit like a dog who could make out its owner before he even pulled up in the drive way. What a horrible thought.

So, one Monday evening Sojiro uttered his usual phrase to welcome the kid back and it took the sound of a woman clearing her throat until he realized that Akira wasn’t alone.  
“Takemi-sensei, I haven’t expected you at this hour. I’m going to close up now that the boy is here.”

“I didn’t come for your coffee today, Sakura-san. Akira here came for a check-up earlier because he said he was feeling sick and after he nearly fainted in the clinic I thought it was for the best if I escort him home.”

The young doctor was right, now that he was paying attention the kid did look a bit white in the face. But that very morning Akira surely had been his usual quiet but healthy self, he hadn’t even mentioned any symptoms. Well, Sojiro supposed if it was bad enough that he went to see a doctor instead of doing whatever with his friends it wasn’t nothing.   
“I see, thank you, I’ll take it from here then. Anything he needs?”

Akira hadn’t said a word yet, but finally seemed to pique up now. His eyes were a bit glassy in a way they tended to if a person was running a fever.  
“No, boss, it’s fine. I’ll just lay down and sleep it off.”

Takemi and the kid exchanged a quick look and if Sojiro didn’t know better he would’ve said he saw a tiny grin on the doctor’s face.   
“Kid’s these days… His little qualm today was most likely due to the sudden heatwave and some flulike symptoms. Not too much to worry about but you might want to keep an eye on him tonight in case his fever gets worse or something else happens.”

Akira opened his mouth, most likely to object, but one apparently meaningful look made him shut up really quickly. At least the kid listened to the doctor, authorities seemed to have quite an impact on him, unsurprisingly.  
“Sure, I’ll make sure he drinks enough and gets some rest. Thank you for your help.”  
The woman’s following “I have to say thank you” wasn’t quite a logical reply, but the doctor was odd like this sometimes. Anyway, she left without quickly after that leaving Akira and Sojiro alone in the empty coffee shop.

The man sighed and folded up his newspaper to place it neatly on the wiped down counter. It looked like he wouldn’t go home today, which was a bit bothersome because he certainly wasn’t young enough anymore to shrug off an all-nighter. There was no way he could bring Akira to his house, not when there was a chance that he would find out about Futaba, but maybe Sojiro could nap on the attic sofa for a few hours at least.

“Alright kid, go upstairs and get ready for bed, I’ll bring you some tea later.”  
Apparently, Akira was still feeling a bit weak because he didn’t put up any resistance and readily made his way into his room, adjusting his schoolbag on the way.  
Was he still carrying that cat around? It was a miracle that Morgana was so well-behaved on normal days, but in this heat to stay in a bag without fight was unbelievable. 

~

In an attempt to not keep the kid from falling asleep, Sojiro had gotten comfortable in one of the booths downstairs. When he had taken the pot of tea to the attic, the boy and the cat had already been in bed. The window had been open, but hoping that it would invite any cool breezes was more of a wishful thought than anything else.  
Despite the barely declining temperature in the evenings, Morgana had curled up close to Akira’s side, those piercing blue eyes staring out of the black ball of fluff when he had entered. 

It had been a while since Sojiro had gone into the attic, the kid really had managed to make it look livelier than imagined. Might be because he had bothered to clean up regularly and sort through the old junk. Anyway, in lieu of a missing nightstand, Akira had put his phone on the windowsill where it had lit up a few times with incoming messages. The kid had paid them, for once, no mind and even seemed to have switched off the sound. Might have a headache as well then, good to know. 

Explaining to Futaba why he wouldn’t come home that night had been complicated. He had yet to tell her that the “part-timer” he had allegedly hired was actually a teenage delinquent living in the attic, so telling her the truth was unfortunately impossible. Surprisingly enough Futaba seemed to buy his half-assed excuses and didn’t ask too many questions. Sojiro guessed that he was lucky enough that it happened on a day where the girl’s attention was somewhere else than her guardian’s private life.

~

An hour later Sojiro dutifully took the stairs up to check on Akira, trying to be silent enough on the old wood to not wake the kid unnecessarily. It seemed to work, the boy laid on his side, facing the door and one hand splayed out over the cats back as if he’d fallen asleep while petting it.   
Morgana just opened one eye to watch Sojiro inspecting if the state of the teapot already warranted to brew a new one and then as gently as possible touching Akira’s forehead. The fever was still there, but at least it hadn’t gotten worse, so Sojiro made his way downstairs again to fix himself a new cup of coffee.

The café was quiet apart from an occasional rustle from the man’s crossword puzzle book and the scratching of a pencil on paper. Once or twice Sojiro could hear muffled sounds of a cat meowing and the creaking of the old bedframe when Akira moved to most likely drink some tea. As far as sick person watch went, this was pretty acceptable.   
Since Futaba had moved in with Sojiro, he had only had to play nurse once and the girl was way needier than Akira was. Well, Futaba was only fourteen, so she was allowed to be seek attention when she wasn’t feeling well. 

~

Sojiro must’ve nodded off at some point, because he jerked awake when the sound of a door jumping open followed by quick, tapping sounds on the staircase interrupted the silence in the café. His phone informed Sojiro that it was shortly after two in the morning while h is back informed him that sleeping in a café booth was met with dire consequences.   
Just after the man decided to relocate to the sofa in Akira’s room after figuring out what the cat wanted at this time of the night, said animal had made its way over to him and started meowing indignantly.

“What is it, cat? You’re going to wake up Akira if you keep screaming like this. Don’t tell me you’re hungry or something, I know the kid feeds you in the mornings before school.”  
Morgana wasn’t too faced by his grumpy attitude apparently, because he not only kept on going but also started to headbutt Sojiro’s shin. At this point he was pretty sure that the cat tried to be demanding and stern, but honestly it came only off as slightly irritating but adorable. 

When Sojiro still failed to respond in the way Morgana wanted him to, he found himself suddenly pinned down to the booth by a cat in his lap. And this wasn’t one of those timed when those furry animals wanted to get petted and laid down to get comfortable – instead Morgana got up on his hindlegs to stare at Sojiro’s face.  
“Okay, okay, I get it. Actually, I don’t, but I try to understand. But if you bite my face I’m going to throw you out.”

The cat’s face moved down a bit as if Morgana was focusing on Sojiro’s nose for a second, but then just jumped back down to the ground before heading back upstairs, swift in a way only felines seemed to possess.  
On a whim, Sojiro put the pencil down next to his forgotten puzzle book and trailed after Morgana. And it seemed to have been a good decision, because the formally peacefully sleeping kid was now turning under the covers restlessly. Even from a few steps away the man could guess from the flushed face that Akira’s fever must’ve gotten worse after all, but Sojiro placed his hand against the burning forehead anyway to be sure. 

The sudden touch made the boy open his eyes and a little startled sound fall from his lips.   
“Only me, kid, your cat told me to come upstairs.”   
It was supposed to be a joke, a little jab against the weird pet’s behavior, but only let out a little “oh” sound and relaxed back into the pillow. 

Meanwhile Morgana took up position at the end of the bed, keeping an eye on both of them with this intense gaze that had made Sojiro stop in his tracks more than once already.   
“Here, drink some tea, I’ll get you a wet cloth to cool you down.”  
Sojiro couldn’t follow through with his words as soon as it got apparent, that Akira had trouble staying upright enough to safely take the cup without spilling its contents everywhere.   
“Okay, new plan, I’ll help you first and then get the cloth.”

Akira opened his lips to say something, but his mouth seemed to be just as dry as his lips. Yes, fluid was important right now.  
“Let’s prop you up against the wall, its less likely for you to flop back down then” Sojiro mumbled, more to himself than the kid, while he carefully hoisted the uncoordinated body up. Thank god that Akira was as lanky as he was, that made the whole man-handling way easier on Sojiro’s old bones. 

“There you go, think you can hold the cup yourself?”  
The kid nodded weekly and his head scrunched up in concentration when he grabbed the tea slowly but deliberately. Sojiro still kept close, just in case Akira’s sudden sickness led to clumsiness.   
Even if the boy’s hand shook slightly, he managed alright to drink a few tiny sips before slumping back against the wall. This was by no means enough, but Sojiro could pester him about that in a bit. The tea had gotten cold by now, so he decided to brew a new pot when he was going downstairs anyway.

“You okay like this until I’m back, or do you want to lay down again?”  
“ ‘m fine. Thanks”  
“Well, the cat knows how to get my attention if somethings wrong.”

As if on cue Morgana let out a distinctively proud meow before inviting himself onto Akira’s lap. They stayed like this until Sojiro returned, armed with a bowl of cold water and some unused rag as well as new tea. The kid had closed his eyes again, breath a bit labored, but his right hand was lightly petting the purring cat.   
They were an odd pair.

After Sojiro put everything down next to the bed he went on a quick search for the two stairs the kid had claimed at some point since his arrival and turned one of them into an impromptu nightstand. The other one was obviously for himself, for some reason he now felt as if sitting on the soda while Akira was on the other end of the room was terribly awkward.   
“Before you lay down again you need to drink some more. I know tea is not my strong suit but I can’t quite feed you coffee now, can I?”  
“Would like that better…”  
Sojiro huffed out a little laugh which in turn introduced a tiny smile on Akira’s face as well.  
“Knew you weren’t a lost cause, kid.”

They went silent again and Morgana helped encourage the boy to finish a cup of tea despite the dizziness he apparently was still suffering from. This really wasn’t like any cold Sojiro had seen until now and he decided if Akira wasn’t better in the morning he would call the clinic.  
“ ‘thanks ‘n sorry.”  
The man wasn’t sure if he should be more concerned about the increased slurring of the kid’s speech or the continued apologizing about being sick. So, eventually he decided to push both things away for now and instead concentrate on renewing the wet rag on Akira’s forehead whenever it became too hot.  
Damn weather wasn’t making this any easier.

~

At around three the kid seemed to have nodded off again, but the panting was still loud and distinct in the quietness of the night. Sojiro checked Akira’s fever again and again, but apparently it had settled down just on the verge of concerningly high.   
Morgana in the meantime was behaving just as restlessly as Sojiro felt. The cat couldn’t decide if he wanted to be near the furnace that was Akira’s body right now or perch on the windowsill instead. Odd, loyal cat; in times like this Sojiro was weirdly relieved that his charge had found such a good companion. Even though having an animal up here was at least one health violation. 

“ ‘jiro?”  
The man was interrupted from his musings by a little voice. Akira seemed to have woken up again, eyes barely open and glazed over by fever.

“What is it, kid? You need something?”  
But the kid didn’t answer, just silently glanced up from him, looking so different from usual flushed from sickness and without his glasses. After all those days when Sojiro could watch his charge study responsibly for his tests or offer his help in the shop, appearing so much more mature than the man had expected the teenager to be, Akira finally looked like the kid he was. 

“It’s okay, I’m here. Don’t worry.”  
Maybe Futaba had awoken more fatherly instincts than he formerly realized, because he felt a sudden urge of protectiveness for the attic boy. At least Akira was thankful for that, since his eyes closed again and he seemed to calm down again. Hm.

~

Shortly after five Akira’s fever broke. At this point Sojiro was only still awake thanks to some strong roast and the worry to miss any of the boy’s distress. Only when the kid finally slid over into a more restful sleep, the man allowed himself to leave his position next to the bed and switch over to the sofa for a quick nap before he had to open the café.

Sojiro’s internal alarm clock, fueled by year long habit, made him rise at quarter past six on point, even though he hadn’t gotten more than forty minutes of sleep. Surprisingly, he wasn’t the only one awake, but Akira was also sitting upright, watching him over his cup of tea. 

“Good morning, boss.”  
The man grumbled something that could graciously be interpreted as a polite reply and the damn cat let out a sound that was closer to a dog’s bark than a meow.  
“I take you feelin’ better then?”

Akira nodded and gingerly placed his teacup onto the impromptu nightstand.  
“Yes, thank you again for last night.”  
“If you apologize one more time for being a bother I” Sojiro thought for a moment to find a suitable punishment “will make you stick for tea the whole week.”  
The kid smiled thinly, until a cheeky glint entered the once again clear, dark eyes: “I guess I’ve to put my new coffee making skills to use then.”  
Ah yes, he nearly forgot that Akira had kept practicing since that one slow afternoon when Sojiro had started to teach him the basics.  
“Or you could just shut up and let me open up the café in peace.”  
“or that, yes.”

Sojiro took it as a good sign that the kid was fit enough for banter again. Actually, he looked so healthy again that Sojiro would’ve insinuated that Akira faked it if he hadn’t seen it himself. 

~

That days first costumer was Tae Takemi, just as yesterday dressed in a lab coat which led to believe she was already on duty herself.  
“Morning, you come to check up on that guy?”  
“Yes, since you don’t look too concerned I take there were no problems during the night?”

Sojiro stroked his beard and started a brew of the house blend, the doctors current favorite.   
“His fever got quite bad at some point, but we managed. When I got up he looked fine again but I still kept him out of school for today. I would’ve sent him over later, but I guess you beat me to the idea.”  
Takemi’s face became thoughtful for a moment, just as if she was adding the new information and mulling their meaning over. Well, it was an unusual case of sickness after all, Sojiro didn’t blame her.  
“I see. Well, if you’re right I guess he can go back to school tomorrow after getting some rest, but I’ll take a look myself anyway.”  
“Feel free, Takemi-san.”

Just as announced, the doctor only told Akira to take it slow for the day and said her goodbyes after quickly downing her cup of coffee. She said she had gained a few patients lately and couldn’t afford to stay away for so long anymore, and Sojiro just nodded. He’d never been deaf to the rumors about her and lately her popularity had increased dramatically, even though he didn’t know why.

Around lunch time Akira settled down in one of the booths with a book but fortunately without Morgana and ate some curry while reading. They didn’t talk much and Sojiro pretended to be oblivious to the fact that the kid’s phone kept receiving messages despite the fact that all of his friends should be in class right now.   
It was a weirdly pleasant day, calm and warm in a way that was completely separate from the current weather. That actually had switched from obnoxious sunshine to heavy downpour that day, turning the air uncomfortably humid. 

Anyway, despite the circumstances Sojiro hadn’t been as relaxed in a while and he felt as if the reluctant bond to his own delinquent had grown stronger.   
Well, that wasn’t a bad thing, wasn’t it? It might’ve been even worth the lack of sleep and night of sickness.

Sojiro thoughtfully watched the kid he had accidentally started caring about and found himself shockingly unbothered by the idea of Akira getting to know Futaba.  
Huh, what a weird development.


End file.
